Chilmark Community Center Fee Hikes Proposed

Chilmark offers some of the lowest rates on the Island for community events. But local groups ranging from the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society to the Rotary Club could soon find themselves needing to hold their events elsewhere.

Earlier this year, a study committee was formed to develop recommendations for how to handle the use of town-owned spaces, which include the Chilmark Community Center and the Chilmark School. The committee members are James Malkin, Jane Slater and Andy Golden.

Current policies require a $200 fee for parties and rehearsal dinners, $400 for weddings, and $50 for children’s parties. But requests are often handled on a case-by-case basis by the selectmen, and in many cases the fee is waived entirely.

The committee presented its results to the selectmen on Tuesday, recommending, among other things, that all groups planning to charge admission pay a $500 minimum fee, plus 20 per cent of admission sales, including those made by donation.

It recommended that all applicants be sponsored by a town resident who would need to attend the event and also provide a damage deposit.

A wide range of community groups and nonprofits, including Slow Food Martha’s Vineyard, Island preschools and the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, use the town-owned spaces throughout the year.

Committee chairman James Malkin said one of the goals was to eliminate the possibility of bias on the part of selectmen by developing “a codified set of rules that apply across the board equally and fairly.”

He added that Chilmark’s fees for community spaces are among the lowest on the Island. “We need to not be the cheapest venue on the Island for events,” he said.

The committee sought to ensure that the fees for using the town’s buildings would benefit the town and its taxpayers, and be adequate to maintain the facilities. It also wanted to ensure that the uses of town-owned spaces were “consistent with Chilmark values and character,” according to the committee’s report.

Brian Ditchfield, managing director of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, which has shown films at the Community Center every summer since 2002, said the new policy would be a major burden.

“That fee structure of $500, and especially the 20 per cent, really strikes me as cost-prohibitive for our use,” he said at Tuesday’s meeting. “And we may be the biggest nonprofit that has events there, so I can’t imagine what that strain would put on other nonprofits. “I’m wondering what we see as the mission of the community center,” he said. “Is it to be a community gathering space for these events, or is it to make money? And if it is to make money, then I think there is a different discussion to be had.”

Committee member Andy Golden drew attention to the fact that in the past, the film festival has charged extra for parking and for access to couches. He said the committee’s opinion had agreed that those practices do not exemplify Chilmark values. The committee’s report also recommends against such “differential charging.”

Mr. Ditchfield countered that the film festival has “put incredible amounts of dollars,” into the community center, contributing a new movie screen and a ventilation system, and has shared the cost of chairs.

Mr. Malkin appreciated the festival’s contributions, but defended the 20 per cent fee as a way to ensure that the town can continue supporting the larger groups. “The more people you have, the more tickets you sell, the more donations you accept, the more stress there is on the facility,” he said.

Selectman William Rossi said the issue had less to do with making money than with balancing revenue with the cost of operations. He agreed with the idea of a percentage fee, but added, “I think it’s up to us to figure out how to kind of organize that.”

Compared to other event spaces on the Island, he said, “It’s still a great deal.”

Selectman Warren Doty supported the idea of a stricter policy, but worried about how it might affect the Island groups that charge admission but do not expect to make a profit. He believed some flexibility in those cases would be necessary. He added that working with the largest users would also require “some individual negotiation.”

The selectmen delayed their vote on the committee’s recommendation to allow for further discussion.

Comments (7)

Thomas Hodgson, wt

What sad news. It would be a shame to see these stunning and malproportionate fee increases, gate-skimming fees, and contribution fees (!!!) go into effect. Many Island groups are shoestring operations, and these proposals will be not one, but a whole handful of nails in the coffin for people who are not wealthy. Events that draw small numbers of people will be particularly hard hit. Debt left by a poorly attended, rained or snowed-out event could crush the budget of many a worthy group. The Community Center should be for the community, and should not be treated like a profit center. The quote: “We need to not be the cheapest venue on the Island for events,” sounds like it comes straight out of Snoot City. There is great merit in being an affordable "home" for events held by non-millionaire organizations. Cooking up pages and pages of compulsive and controlling rules, and piling on onerous fees is mean-spirited. Have a heart, Chilmark, and approach your decisions on this matter with compassion and community interest in mind.

Is a "Chilmark value" pushing out the arts and events that we like having in our town? Crazy! I really hope the selectman think hard before adopting this policy. Does any other venue take a cut of donations and tickets?

I love the Martha's Vineyard Film Festival. If Chilmark doesn't want you, we'll gladly have more of you down-island. I loved seeing Rory Kennedy last week. I went to the Chilmark Tavern beforehand. You'd think Chilmark would want to encourage that kind of business coming to town.

Once again, the topic of Chilmark's beaches gets mentioned without using the facts.
Chilmark provides a public beach that is manned by a lifeguard in Summer. It is open to any and all, and there's even free parking. It is the only beach that the town actually owns.
The other town beaches (Vincent and Squibnocket) are private property that's leased by the town. Those beaches are restricted to residents during Summer as stipulated by the leases. Would you prefer that land be subdivided, and sold as house lots for more McMansions? If that happened, the land would be inaccessible year 'round.

These recommendations are very disappointing and will probably mean that the Community Center stands open and unused for much of the year. Rather than finding an increase in income, I think selectmen will find an annual decrease, as many groups simply will not be able to afford rental fees.
As a Chilmark resident, I love the fact that many groups are able to use our community center, bringing events and cultural opportunities to town. Sadly, if these new fee increases go into effect, we will miss out. No more contra dances, Slow Food presentations (yes, affordable admission charged!) or bringing the kids to see some amazing films-- all without driving to Oak Bluffs or Edgartown.
In addition to attending events there, I have also organized events for non-profits, including the Homeschool Talent Show and a year-end dinner for Island Grown Gleaning volunteers.
The community center has become a refuge for the above mentioned community-minded events, (and many others) and I hope it will continue to do so, with very low or waived fees for school events and events sponsored by non-profits.
I hope that the recommendation will not be taken and exorbitant new fees will not be put into place. The selectmen and the committee need to hear from the stakeholders in this case before making decisions that will have long term effects on the island community. If the selectmen do not waive as many fees but keep the rate very low for non-profits, I believe they will find the adequate increase they are looking for and allow the center to continue to be used with frequency.

There is so much wrong, and possibly illegal, in these recommendations that it''s hard to know where to begin. As Artistic and Executive Director of The Yard, I am an avid neighbor of the Community Center and the MVFF as well as an arts provider to the Chilmark School. I do not understand putting prohibitive fees on use of these facilities - which will in fact decrease usage. But the notion of a "taxation" of modest box office receipts, not to mention of contributions or donations (that's the clearly illegal bit - the IRS would never allow that) is uninformed, and perhaps dangerous to Chilmark's connection to the rest of the Island. Up-island has the least amount of non-profit activity of any area on the island. Especially in the cold weather months there's a need to incentivize artists and others to make Chilmark/Aquinnah a destination for cultural and educational events. Whatever the Town is trying to do, it is not the pursuit of the Chilmark "values" I have grown to love and work for, day in and day out.